Chittagong Bureau :
Police recovered huge quantities of explosives, petrol bombs and firearms busting a hideout of Islami Chhatra Shibir in the remote hilly part of Sitakunda in Chittagong in the wee hours of Sunday.
In an overnight raid, the Chittagong district police recovered 120 handmade bombs, including 70 petrol bombs and 50 crude bombs, four lighter guns, three rocket flyers, 10 sharp local weapons, two firearms and 24 rounds bullets from the hideout.
Police also detained three Shibir activists in connection with the incident of explosives recovery. The detail identities of the detainees could not be known immediately.
Tipped off, seven platoons of district police conducted the drive in the area at dead of night on Nunachara hill under Sitakunda upzila.
“Police conducted an overnight drive at the Nunachora hilly area and unearthed the dens of Shibir activists,” ASP of Sitakunda police Md Saiful Islam said.
Police have kept the entire area under cordon. Besides, the law enforcers divided in separate teams were conducting massive search till the time of filing of this report yesterday evening. “We [police] also found three tents in the hideout which were used for accommodation and training purpose of Shibir militants,” Naimul Hasan, Additional Superintendent of Police [Special Branch] of Chittagong district said.
It was the third recovery of the huge arms-explosives busting hilly dens in Chittagong district within a span of only 15 days. On February 22, the Rapid Action Battalion [RAB] recovered a huge quantity of arms, ammunition and other explosive materials busting a militant camp run by religious extremists in remote hill areas of Banskhali upazila in Chittagong.
Earlier on February 28, the law enforcers recovered a huge cache of arms and ammo from a militant hideout at Halishahar in Chittagong metropolitan city.
Meanwhile, the acting chief of Jamaat Islami Chittagong city unit Md Ahsan Ullah was arrested yesterday morning in a separate drive on charge of sabotage, police said.
He was nabbed in the morning from a house at Halishahar, Detective Branch police’s Additional Superintendent SM Tanvir Arafat said.
